Volume 2, Number 3, 2017 September 2017

Original Articles

Lay people without a body of specialty knowledge, like the professionals, have not been able to partake in interprofessional education (IPE). Transprofessional education (TPE), which was defined as IPE with non-professionals /lay people, is an important extension of (IPE). A TPE programme was developed to explore how health professionals and lay people learn with, from and about each other in a Japanese community. The present study was conducted in a hospital and the surrounding community in Japan. An ethnographic study design was adopted, and the study participants were six lay individuals from the community and five professionals working in the community-based hospital. During the health education classes, the first author acted as a facilitator and an observer. On reviewing interview data and field notes using a thematic analysis approach, findings showed that healthcare professionals and lay participants progressed through uniprofessional and interprofessional before achieving transprofessional learning. Both type of participants became to transcend boundaries after sharing their viewpoints in a series of classes and recognized that they were important partners in their local community step by step, which increased their sense of belonging to the community. The transformation was driven by dynamic interaction of the following four factors: reflection, dialogue, reinforcement of ties, and expanding roles. We believe this process led both groups to come to feel collective efficacy and inspire healthcare professionals to reflect on their transprofessional learning. We clarified how healthcare professionals and lay people achieved transprofessional learning in a TPE programme where participants advanced through uniprofessional, interprofessional stage before achieving transprofessional learning.

Introduction: With the growing trend and importance towards producing holistically groomed medical graduates as discussed in Tomorrow’s Doctors, we introduced a community oriented Special Study Module 3 (SSM3) in the Year 3 undergraduate medicine program in the Institute of Health Sciences, Universiti Brunei Darussalam. This module incorporates the principles of Community Oriented Medical Education (COME) to facilitate Holistic development and Team-based learning.

Method: A descriptive cross sectional survey design using a self- designed 18 item questionnaire to explore the overall organization, benefits and skills learnt from this module, was sent to the emails of all students in the three cohorts. Questionnaire was piloted on a small group of nursing students who accomplished a community based project. Cronbach’s Alpha analysis was done to establish the reliability of survey.

Result: Questionnaire was sent to 47 students and got a 74% response rate. Most of the students found the project very interesting and useful in learning various skills and enhancing self-development. Cronbach’s Alpha of more than 0.70 suggested strong internal reliability. Discussion: Students perception strongly suggests that all the objectives of SSM3 module have been achieved. This approach facilitated multifaceted learning including leadership, teamwork, communication skills, managerial and organizational skills by working with the community members to identify and address their health risks.

Conclusion: Community oriented medical education approach can be used to enhance multifaceted learning in real life environment as small group students led projects.

Videos when properly embedded within the curriculum might make learning the basic sciences such as human anatomy much more engaging for medical students. It is unclear how the use of video is advantageous. Possible scientific causations for such an observation include visual and auditory stimulation, coupled with ease of access for the learner. Video usage empowers the medical students to learn in an active manner. However, this cannot happen if motivation for self-directed learning is lacking. This research aims to 1) Elucidate qualitative and quantitative comments on how videos help to enhance anatomy learning. 2) Quantify the level of motivation for self-directedness in order for videos to be impactful amongst medical students. A short video was embedded into selected part of the 1st year anatomy curriculums (pharynx and larynx) for selected medical students (n=100). Separately, all students in the cohort (n=300) were assessed for their attitude towards active learning via a survey on motivation levels. This was done using the modified PRO-SDLS. Results showed that 85% of the participants enjoyed learning the anatomy of the pharynx and larynx with embedded videos (P<0.05). Specifically, they liked the Q&A sessions, the virtual chat platform, and the mode of delivery. Participants perceive it to be clearer, and more structured (P<0.05). Concomitantly, all medical students surveyed exhibited unusually high motivation for self-directed learning (³ agreeing with probe questions in the PRO-SDLS) (P<0.05). This allows videos to be impactful. In conclusion, with videos, medical students appreciated the relevance of basic regional anatomy more in a statistically significant manner compared to controls. However, a threshold motivation is required for active learning to be successful.

Keywords: Video; ENT Anatomy; Feedback; Medical Education

Short Communications

There is a gap between the teaching and practice of clinical ethics. Many students learn bioethics at an undergraduate level in lectures and through tutorials. They may also learn case based ethical reflection; however, discussing ethical issues of real ICU patients and families is a novel form of experiential teaching which engages undergraduate students and helps them see practical and quick consideration in very sick patients. Often ICU patients present complex and difficult ethical dilemmas which can demonstrate real life scenarios that students can relate to when learning in a classroom.

Letter to Editor

Undergraduate medical education builds upon the knowledge gained in the basic science phase to understand the applied aspects in the clinical phase. The spiralling curriculum and the teaching learning delivery methods make definite impact on the sharing of knowledge and the acquisition of skills and attitude. We referred to Akira Kurusowa and tried to apply his innovative, unorthodox but effective narration style to teaching learning methods.